Integrating Children and Young People

We work with over 90 disabled children and young people, at any one time, aged 5-25 years, largely in the Durham City and Chester-le-Street area.

Our services include:

Supporting disabled children to develop the social skills and confidence to be able to take part in leisure and recreational activities in their community.

Helping disabled children to experience full and interesting lives through taking part in enjoyable constructive activities.

Assisting disabled young adults to operate effectively and confidently in the community.

Helping disabled children to have fun and make friends.

We aim to support children and young people with a disability to access mainstream social and leisure activities of their choice. We offer life-skills training which allows for more opportunities in the transition from school to work and this also allows for the children to interact and build relationships with other children.

Our activities run on evenings and weekends through term time and during school holidays.

Our current activity program through term times is:

Monday - Gym group at Abbey Leisure Centre

Monday - Photography group at Bullion Lane, Chester-Le-Street

Tuesday – Football Training with Foundation of Light.

Tuesday – Music Project in partnership with Sage Gateshead.

Wednesday – Sportability with Durham County Cricket Club.

Thursday – Bowling at AMF Bowling in Washington.

Alternate Fridays – Young People’s social group at the Newton Grange.

Saturday – Various activities such as swimming, cinema and pub lunch normally based in Durham, Chester-le-Street or Washington.

Where to go

Other details

Cost dependent on activity. The only money needed is whatever your child spends to access the activity and spends on themselves, for example: their swimming admission fee.

Referral and availability notes

To access our service the child or young person is required to be diagnosed with a disability, have a learning difficulty or have special needs. A referral can be received from parent/guardians or professionals such as social workers or teachers. Our Referral process is as follows:

Stage 1We receive contact stating that you would like to enquire about Integrating Children and Young People's services.

Stage 2DMc are then contacted and notified of the enquiry and an enquiry form will be sent.

Stage 3Once the enquiry form has been completed and sent back this will be cross checked by DMc using the Priority Assessment Tool. Once the priority level has been established DMc then notify us of their results.

Stage 4The Priority Assessment Tool will tell us whether they are eligible to access this service and contact will be made to inform you of the result.

Stage 5If the child/young person is eligible then they will be given either a high or low priority scoring.

Stage 6The child will be placed on the waiting list and dependant on certain factors such as priority level, amount of support already receiving and geographical area. Then contact will be made informing you that a space has become available and a home visit will be arranged.

Stage 7Once the Home visit has been done and an activity has been offered, then DMc will be informed and the referral process will have been complete.

For an in depth look at our referrals process please view the attached form.

Local Offer

Local Offer description

We provide a minimum of 7,200 hours of activities per year for children under 18 and further services for those between 18 and 25. All staff/support have been given up to date training and are able to request any training they feel they need to be able to best support a child. If a child attends that has a specific need that requires extra training, then support are able to attend this to make sure they are best prepared to support the child.

We attend various different activities in many different venues to be able to provide a service for children’s preference of activities in the local community. Many of us have been at Integrating Children for a number of years and are dedicated to making sure the children have as much fun as possible whilst maintaining the safety of the children.

What does your service do?

What does your service do?

Integrating Children and Young People is a charity that aims to support children and young people with a disability to access social and leisure activities in the community. This gives the children an opportunity to create new relationships with other children of a similar age and similar needs.

Where is it located and what areas does it cover?

Where is it located and what areas does it cover?

The Integrating Children and Young People's office is based In Chester-le-street but activities are located in different areas in the local community (majority in the Durham & Chester-le-Street areas). Dependant on which activities the child would like to access. Here is a list of our catchment area:

DH1:

Carrville

Durham City

Framwellgate Moor

Pity Me

Shincliffe

DH2:

Chester-le-Street

Edmondsley

Grange Villa

Kimblesworth

Newfield

Ouston

Pelton

Plawsworth

Waldridge

DH3:

Chester-le-Street

Great Lumley

DH4:

Bournmoor

West Rainton

DH6:

Bowburn

Cassop

Coxhoe

Croxdale

Hett

Kelloe

Pittington

Quarrington Hill

Shadforth

Sherburn

DH7:

Bearpark

Brancepeth

Brandon

Langley Moor

Langley Park

Sacriston

Ushaw Moor

Witton Gilbert

DH9:

Beamish

Who does your organisation provide a service for?

Who does your organisation provide a service for?

Integrating Children and Young People provides a service for children and young people aged between 5-25 that have been diagnosed with a disability have a learning difficulty or special needs. The range of disabilities faced by the children and young people using Integrating Children and Young People includes:

Cerebral Palsy: A condition which affects muscle control and movement. We work with children with quite severe disability requiring use of a wheelchair.

Down’s Syndrome: A genetic disorder which results in a delay in cognitive ability such as language, learning, reasoning and problem solving.

A range of Learning Difficulties which vary in severity.

Autism Spectrum Conditions: A developmental disability which affects how a person communicates and relates to people around them. This is often linked with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder resulting in poor attention span, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

How can I start using the service?

How can I start using the service?

To register a child with us please contact us and we will email/post an enquiry form. A child must be registered and of had a home visit with us before attending activities.

How are decisions made about who can use your service?

How are decisions made about who can use your service?

The only requirement Integrating Children has is that the person is aged 5-25 and has been diagnosed with a disability, has a learning difficulty or special needs. However, as we receive more referrals than we have places, we operate a priority system based on things such as geographical area, amount of support needed, severity of disability etc.

How do I know what is going on and can I be involved in making plans for the future?

How do you communicate with service users and how are they involved in decision making / planning?

Whilst on activities support ask the children if there are any other activities they would like to try and do. This is so that when Team Leaders plan the activities it is done on what the children would like to do. When the activity is finished the support will provide feedback on how the child has been and if the parent/guardian would like regular feedback on how they are progressing this can be provided.

Is your service fully accessible?

Is your service fully accessible?

When arranging different activities we bear in mind that some of the children/young people who access our services do have wheelchairs so we try our best to access activities that allow this.

What training have your staff had regarding SEND?

What training are the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had or are having?

All staff/support have been given up to date training and are able to request any training they feel they need to be able to best support a child. If a child attends that has a specific need that requires extra training, then support are able to attend this to make sure they are best prepared to support the child.

Who can I contact for further information?

Durham County Council's Families Information Service does not promote nor endorse the services advertised on this website.
Anyone seeking to use/access such services does so at their own risk and may make all appropriate enquiries about fitness
for purpose and suitability to meet their needs.

Disclaimer: Durham County Council's Families Information Service encourages and promotes the use of plain English. We therefore reserve the right to amend any information supplied as necessary. Durham County Council's Families Information Service does not promote nor endorse the services advertised on this website. Anyone seeking to use/access such services does so at their own risk and may make all appropriate enquiries about fitness for purpose and suitability to meet their needs.